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After the lack of innovation of Harvest Moon DS and the futuristic but out of tune innovation of Innocent Life, Natsume's farming simulation series has finally found its footing on handheld consoles with Rune Factory. This latest attempt to bring innovation to a too-familiar series has produced an interesting hybrid that mixes the old farming system with real-time battles and much more exploration than in the past. Even if it still suffers with a defective control system that doesn't take full advantage of the DS' touch-screen capabilities, Rune Factory delivers a sense of freshness that is worth checking out.

The core of the series is still farming and the basic activities haven't changed much from previous installments. Plowing the soil, planting season-appropriate seeds and watering the sprouts are daily tasks that players need to perform by themselves before they get some help. The developer Neverland, though, has managed to spice things up by adding some little details that hardcore fans of the series will welcome. It is now possible to walk on crops, a feature that allows you to seed full 9x9 patches of soil, without having to worry about not being able to reach the central tile once plants are grown. This allows for a more efficient use of the available soil, and there's plenty of it. The game is full of fertile patches in the many caves, each of them keeping a constant climate. Players will soon prefer indoors farming to the traditional outdoors, especially considering the fact that caves are not affected by storms. This grants a 365 day cycle of farming and harvesting, a clever innovation that will save players from the usual tedium of winter days. Seeds are available during any season at the local store and they can even be produced by players from fully grown crops, mixing them with Greenifier in order to obtain leveled-up seeds.

In addition to the classic farming activities, Rune Factory offers an RPG-like exploration and fighting section. Don't expect any great amount of action, since the fighting system only requires repeatedly pressing the B button, but at least it's designed to complement the traditional plow-and-harvest section. Farming is the key to unlock the entrances to caves, which allow players to improve their skills and obtain rare items. Fighting, in turn, is the only way to increase hit points and rune points, the two main indicator bars in Rune Factory. The first one is the character's resistance to enemy attacks, while the second represents his endurance when farming, fishing and digging for ores. Fully grown crops produce a blue orb that respawns every day: the main character can collect it to replenish his RP and perform more activities. Overall, time management is much easier and worry-free this time out.